Z machine
This article is about the X-ray generator. For the Infocom virtual machine, see Z-machine.
The Z machine is the largest X-ray generator in the world and is designed to test materials in conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. It is operated by Sandia National Laboratories to gather data to aid in computer modeling of nuclear weapons.
The machine operates by releasing an electrical pulse and associated magnetic field. The energy vaporizes an array of tungsten wires and crushes the plasma. The collapsing plasma produces x-rays which create a shock wave that bears on the material being tested.
It gets its name because current travels vertically into the target, which is conventionally the z axis (x and y being horizontal, see Z-pinch).
Originally designed to supply 50 terawatts of power in one fast pulse, technological advances allowed this to increase to 290 terawatts, enough to study nuclear fusion. Z releases 80 times the world's electrical power usage for a few trillionths of a second. However, only a small amount of electricity is consumed for each test (equal to the usage of 100 houses for two minutes). Marx generators are slowly charged with energy prior to firing.
Sandia announced the fusing of deuterium in the Z machine on April 7, 2003. A $60 million dollar refurbishment program was announced in 2004 that will raise the power output to 350 terawatts. The X-ray output will be 2.7 megajoules.